If you didn’t pay attention in 10th grade history, here’s your second chance to learn about one of the most pivotal events in the Civil Rights movement — but you won’t have the urge to fall asleep in narrator Mirron Willis’ class. Raymond Arsenault’s detailed and chronological account of the Freedom Rides of 1961 begins in 1948 with the story of Irene Morgan, a Black woman who boarded a bus in Virginia and sat in the only empty seat, which happened to be in front of a white couple — and against the law. She refused to move when asked by the bus driver and set the wheels in motion for a critical case that climbed all the way to the Supreme Court and made segregated interstate travel illegal. Little known, but crucial facts like these lay the foundation for what led a group of 450 interracial people to ride a bus through some of the most violent and racist cities in the Jim Crow South for six months in 1961.

Mirron Willis, with a powerful James Earl Jones-esque voice, expertly narrates the hard facts, yet still conveys the mix of fear, passion, and determination of the cast of riders committed to a worthy cause. His strong enunciation is appropriately like that of a history professor — you can almost picture him lecturing in front of a room of rapt students — and it’s a lesson you won’t soon forget. His commanding oration combined with the vivid details of the harrowing journey, the violence the group encountered, and their unwavering strength in the face of adversity paint such a clear picture that it’s almost as if you’re watching a movie.

If you’re looking for a book with strong lead characters and loads of suspense, where the good guys win in the end, Freedom Riders won’t disappoint. And it’s even more memorable and astounding, because it’s true. —Colleen Oakley